Scalpers using bots to resell KBO tickets arrested in South Korea

Authorities have apprehended a group of 19 individuals, including a software developer and 18 ticket scalpers, for their involvement in a scheme to illegally acquire and resell tickets for professional baseball games. The 광주경찰청 (Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency) announced on August 24 that the suspects are being investigated for violations of the Information and Communications Network Act and obstruction of business.

The alleged mastermind, identified only as 'A', is accused of developing a macro program that automates the ticket booking process. From March 19 to late May, 'A' reportedly charged 18 individuals a subscription fee of 6 million won for access to this software. This program allowed users to bypass normal booking procedures, enabling them to rapidly secure multiple tickets by automating seat selection and purchase.

These tickets, primarily for high-demand games such as opening matches and Children's Day events, were then resold on online secondhand trading platforms at inflated prices. The 18 scalpers are alleged to have purchased tickets worth approximately 80 million won and resold them for around 160 million won, effectively doubling their investment. The police launched their investigation in April after noticing suspicious transactions on resale sites, which led them to identify and arrest 'A' in the Seoul metropolitan area and subsequently uncover the network of scalpers across the country.

Law enforcement is expanding its investigation, having uncovered further leads on other macro program developers and users. A representative from the Gwangju police stated, "Some scalpers initially purchased the program to attend games themselves, but upon successfully securing tickets, they turned to online resale." The police are focusing their efforts on dismantling the entire supply chain of online ticket scalping, targeting not only the resellers but also the developers and distributors of the illicit software.

“

Some scalpers initially purchased the program to attend games themselves, but upon successfully securing tickets, they turned to online resale. We will focus our investigative efforts on blocking the supply chain of online ticket scalping, tracking down not only simple scalpers but also the development and distribution stages of the macro program.